On the eve of the Broadway premiere of Hands on a Hardbody: The Musical, director S.R. Bindler stopped by Stranger Than Fiction to present a New York premiere screening of his newly remastered classic Hands on a Hardbody: The Documentary to a theater full of diehard Hardbody fans.  Hands on a Hardbody: The Documentary was not only a high water mark for DIY, bootstrap filmmaking in the late1990s but was and continues to be one of the most entertaining and engaging documentaries of all time.  The fans of this documentary are legion, and for many years DVDs and prints of this out of print classic fetched hundreds of dollars on eBay – a situation that will no doubt be alleviated by the re-release of the newly mastered version of the film.

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The South by Southwest Film Festival handed out awards on Tuesday, with the grand jury prize for feature documentary going to WILLIAM AND THE WINDMILL from director Ben Nabors. The film WE ALWAYS LIE TO STRANGERS from directors AJ Schnack and David Wilson took home the special jury prize for directing. Later in the week THE SHORT GAME from Joshua Greenbaum nabbed the doc audience award. Adam Benzine of Realscreen had the news, while Scott Macaulay of Filmmaker Magazine listed all of the festival’s winners. At Indiewire, Eric Kohn reviewed WILLIAM AND THE WINDMILL, while Mary Anderson Casavant of Filmmaker Magazine spoke with Schnack and Wilson about STRANGERS.

In other SXSW news, Basil Tsiokos shared part one of his recap of docs screening at the festival. Brian Anthony Hernandez of Mashable recapped the Alex Winter-helmed doc on Napster, DOWNLOADED. The AP’s Michael Brick recapped the premiere of the Snoop Lion (nee Dogg) biopic REINCARNATED from director Andy Capper. Mark Olsen of the Los Angeles Times reported on the Kathleen Hanna doc from Sini Anderson, THE PUNK SINGER. At The Daily Beast, Marlow Stern took a look at Michal Marczak’s FUCK FOR FOREST.

Alison Willmore of Indiewire reported that video hosting site Vimeo would debut a VOD service for filmmakers, splitting the revenues 90/10 in favor of the filmmakers. Sean Holmquest of the POV blog spoke with Vimeo’s Blake Whitman about the new initiative.

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It’s far too easy for jaded cynics from the coasts to think of the U.S.’s “heartland” (a conception that itself is a complicated one) as a monolithic culture of guns, jingoism and intolerance. A studied rebuke to the dismissive idea of the flyover state, WE ALWAYS LIE TO STRANGERS from directors AJ Schnack and David Wilson challenges any number of these presumptions in its investigation of Branson, Missouri–a town with a population of about 10,000 that channels some 7.5 million tourists through it on an annual basis.

Branson, situated in the highland region of the Ozarks, appropriates the neon flash of Broadway and Vegas, but promises an ideal of wholesome entertainment bereft of uncouth language or nudity–essentially anything that could easily be considered offensive by social conservatives. In the tradition of much escapist entertainment, performances in Branson’s theaters seem infused with a Stepford-esque aesthetic that belies complicated realities: a saccharine ode to the American flag and the U.S. armed forces is presented without consideration for the terrible costs of war.

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Festival news was thick this week. The Tribeca Film Festival this week announced its lineup in two parts. At Filmmaker Magazine, Scott Macaulay had the first bit of news, which included the documentaries in competition, while his colleague Nick Dawson had the second chunk of news about spotlights, special screenings and more. At About.com, Jennifer Merin focused her attention to the docs in competition and the docs in the viewpoints section. At Realscreen, Adam Benzine covered the news similarly, noting the competition films and others getting a premiere. In a post for Indiewire, Anthony Kaufman highlighted some of the docs screening at Tribeca that he thought noteworthy.

Canada’s Hot Docs also announced 28 films screening as part of their Special Presentations program. Back at Realscreen Adam Benzine covered the news, while Etan Vlessing of The Hollywood Reporter pointed out some of the premieres in the announcement.

Full Frame, which runs in Durham, North Carolina, April 4-7 had news of its lineup this week, and that it would open with the Dawn Porter film GIDEON’S ARMY; Kelly Anderson of Realscreen had the details.

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STF Spring season passes are now on sale! Buy a pass and enjoy these perks: 

• 8 weekly films (March 26 – May 21) + pre-season bonus screening on March 20
• Free DVD from Docurama
• Free popcorn at every STF show
• Guaranteed seat at sold out shows
• Ability to transfer your pass to a friend

$100 for the season or $16 per film. IFC Center members save more: $80 season pass; $13/ticket 

Check out full line-up below or click here to see all the trailers.

 

PRE-SEASON SPECIAL Wed. March 20 

HANDS ON A HARD BODY (1997)

Newly re-mastered, this classic doc inspired the new Broadway musical about an endurance contest to win a truck.

Q&A w/ dir S.R. Bindler

 

 

 

OPENING NIGHT Tues. March 26

NO PLACE ON EARTH (2012)

Several Ukrainian Jews survived World War II by living in caves for 18 months. Now they finally tell their story.

Q&A w/ dir Janet Tobias

 

 

 

Tues. April 2

FREE ANGELA & ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS (2012)

Accused of supplying guns to free a prisoner in the 1970s, Angela Davis was put on trial and became a revolutionary icon.

Q&A w/ dir Shola Lynch

 

 

Tues. April 9 – SKIP WEEK 

Tues. April 16

BITTER SEEDS (2012)

Villagers in India cope with the effects of genetically modified seeds, promoted by U.S. government agencies.

Q&A w/ dir Micha X. Peled

 

 

 

Tues. April 23

WHICH WAY IS THE FRONT LINE FROM HERE? THE LIFE AND TIME OF TIM HETHERINGTON (2013)

Looking at the life of photojournalist Tim Hetherington who was Oscar-nominated for Restrepo in 2011, then killed in Libya later that year.

Q&A w/ dir Sebastian Junger

 

 

 

Tues. April 30

STORIES WE TELL (2012)

Sarah Polley (Away From Her) explores her family’s secrets in her first documentary that was a hit at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Q&A TBA

 

 

 

Tues. May 7

PANDORA’S PROMISE (2013)

Director Robert Stone (Earth Days) takes a surprising look at environmentalists who are championing nuclear energy.

Q&A w/ dir Robert Stone

 

 

 

Tues. May 14

FOLLOW THE LEADER (2012)

Director Jonathan Goodman Levitt, a longtime member of the STF community, looks at teenagers who aspire to politics.

Q&A w/ dir Jonathan Goodman Levitt

 

 

 

CLOSING NIGHT Tues. May 21

ON THE ROPES (1999)

In this Oscar-nominated doc, directors Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen (The Kid Stays in the Picture) follow young boxers training out of a Brooklyn gym.

Q&A w/ dir Brett Morgen & special guests

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